Gilbert Higley running back Draycen Hall pulled off his jacket and revealed in a red shirt his college destination in two years.

Southern Utah.

Hall, a two-time azcentral sports All-Arizona athlete, said he will first serve a two-year Mormon church mission before realizing his dream of playing Division I college football.

"God Is No. 1 in my life, along with family," Hall said. "I picked Southern Utah over Princeton, some place far away like that. It was an easy decision for me.

"I visited a ton of places, like ASU and UofA. I felt like Southern Utah was the place for me. This is where I'm supposed to be."

Hall's only Pac-12 offer came before his senior season from Arizona, but after Rich Rodriguez was fired and Kevin Sumlin came in as new coach, UA didn't become an option anymore.

"With the new coaches, there was really no spot left for me," Hall said of UA. "Since I wasn't committed already, they kind of just flaked off. And that's how things ended up."

Hall feels good about vying for a starting spot at running back as soon as he returns from his mission.

Hall moved from slot receiver to tailback at Higley just before his junior season and he ended up being named the Gatorade Arizona Football Player of the Year in 2016.

"Running back is where they want me to be," Hall said. "While I was on my official visit, I was one-on-one with the running backs coach for hours. Me and him made a good connection."

Feb. 1, 2018

Draycen Hall, the dynamic two-time All-Arizona running back from Gilbert Higley, said he will announce his college decision on Wednesday at his school around 8 a.m.

He is choosing among Southern Utah, Northern Arizona and Princeton. Those were his three official visits.

Hall said he wants to sign to a college before serving a two-year Mormon church mission.

"I will serve God for two years and come back and fulfill my dream of playing college football," said Hall, who was the Gatorade Arizona Football Player of the Year his junior season and is among eight finalists for the azcentral sports Player of the Year for his senior year.

He helped lead Higley to the 4A state semifinals.

He projects as a slot receiver and running back in college with great speed, balance and moves.

Hall is coming off his best performance of the season, rushing for 287 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries in a 65-14 rout of Glendale Cactus.

Hall, who was the Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year last season, has 1,062 yards and 20 TDs on 77 carries (13.8 yards a carry) for the 7-1 Knights.

Arizona offers Hall

Aug. 9, 2017

If Gilbert Higley senior running back Draycen Hall wasn't thrilled enough Wednesday when he was the only Arizona high school player named to USA Today Sports' preseason All-American football team, it got better on Thursday afternoon.

Hall opened up a piece of mail from the University of Arizona, and it was an official scholarship offers.

"I don’t know if it was wishful thinking," Higley coach Eddy Zubey said. "I knew that UA was recruiting him. But I didn't know they were going to offer him. He opened it up and wow."

It stunned Hall.

"I haven't talked to a coach (from UA) in two weeks," Hall said after practice Thursday. "I had no idea they planned on offering. I went to their camp and did good things. The coaches like me. But I was surprised by this."

The news on Twitter prompted a return text from a Stanford coach to Zubey, who had been bugging Stanford coaches for a while about Hall without any responses.

"The Stanford (assistant coach) texted me back after Draycen tweeted he got offered by UA," Zubey said. "It's funny how you get one, they all get going."

But Hall earned it after a remarkable junior season in which he ran for 2,298 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first season at tailback. Hall, 5-foot-8, 170 pounds, began last year with a splash: 344 yards, four TDs, in a 63-36 win over Cottonwood Mingus.

He had a total of 40 touchdowns, including six receiving and five returning kicks.

Hall is one of the state's more versatile athletes with a background in wrestling and track and field. He has the outside speed to outrun defenders. But he also is tough between the tackles with a quick burst and toughness. He can catch passes and return kickoffs. He was a slot receiver before coach Eddy Zubey moved Hall into the backfield last year out of need.

"To me, I'm not worried about it," Hall said about the All-American status. "I just want to get to state."

Before UA's mailed offer, Hall's only offers were from Navy, Army, Air Force, San Diego and all of the Ivy League schools.

Zubey said that Hall, who has a 4.1 grade-point average, has made Stanford his dream school.

Hall feels the UA offer will open the door on his recruiting.

"I definitely think it will, especially the Pac-12 and being a Power 5," Hall said. "I think that is where my style of play is. I think I fit in with any of the Pac-12 schools."

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him at twitter.com/azc_obert.